Americanization 


A Preliminary  Bulletin  Outlining 
Americanization  Plans  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin 


UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  DIVISION 
The  University  of  Wisconsin 
MADISON 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 
Serial  No.  973.  General  Series  No.  757. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

What  is  Americanization 3 

Agencies  of  Americanization  in  Wisconsin  5 

Americanization  Work  at  University  of  Wisconsir 6 

Milwaukee  Course  for  Teachers 7 

Racine  Naturalization  Course 8 

University  Summer  School 9 

State-wide  Naturalization  Course 10 

Information  Bureau 11 

Lectures  on  Americanization 11 

Loose  Leaf  Courses 11 

Package  Library 12 

Visual  Instruction . 12 

Community  Music  and  Drama 12 


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FOREWORD 

The  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
established  a chair  in  Americanization  at  the  University 
at  their  meeting  in  August,  1918.  The  work  was  affil- 
iated both  with  the  College  of  Letters  and  Science  and 
the  University  Extension  Division.  Mr.  Don  D.  Les- 
cohier  was  appointed  Associate  Professor  of  Economics 
in  charge  of  the  Americanization  Work. 


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Americanization.  What  is  it? 

Americanization  in  the  United  States,  and  Canadian- 
ization  in  Canada,  differ  fundamentally  in  their  spirit, 
method,  and  purpose  from  the  efforts  of  Germany  to 
Germanize  Poland,  Schleswig-Holstein,  and  Alsace-Lor- 
raine ; of  Austria  to  Austrianize  the  Czechs  and  Croats ; 
and  of  Turkey  to  suppress  the  nationalism  of  the  Ar- 
menians. The  Central  Powers  tried  to  crush  the  national 
cultures  and  customs  of  peoples  over  whom  they  had 
acquired  power  by  force  of  arms.  They  continually  sub- 
jected these  peoples  to  the  efforts  of  conquerors  who 
sought  to  suppress  the  language  and  traditions  that  had 
obtained  in  the  acquired  territories,  and  to  compel  the 
use  of  the  language,  government,  and  culture  of  the 
conqueror. 

Americanization  has  nothing  in  common  with  such 
» efforts  as  these.  It  is  an  effort  to  assist  the  alien  among 
jas  to  understand,  appreciate,  and  partake  of  the  best 
^in  American  life  and  thought.  It  is  an  effort  to  provide 
^ facilities  that  will  enable  him  to  become  an  integral 
part  of  America  and  its  life.  It  is  a movement  to  help 
him  share  the  privileges  and  benefits  that  a democracy 
offers  to  its  people,  and  to  fit  him  for  his  responsibilities 
as  a citizen  in  a democratic  commonwealth.  It  aims  to 
help  him  know  our  national  life ; to  help  him  make  our 
traditions,  heroes,  and  ideals  his;  to  inspire  in  him  a 
love  for  America  and  what  it  stands  for ; to  win  his  heart 
to  the  things  we  love. 

But  Americanization  is  more  than  this.  It  is  as  neces- 
sary for  Americans  to  understand  the  peoples  who  have 
come  to  them  from  foreign  lands  as  for  those  peoples  to 

[ 3 ] 


4 


become  acquainted  with  America.  Every  people  whose 
feet  have  pressed  our  soil  has  brought  to  us  traditions, 
customs,  capacities,  ideals,  and  personal  qualities  which 
are  of  inestimable  value  to  America.  Each  race  or  na- 
tionality, when  it  first  came  to  our  shores,  had  to  start 
at  the  bottom  of  the  economic  ladder.  Each  one’s 
capacity  was  undervalued  hy  the  American  during  the 
early  years  of  its  migration  to  America,  because  it  had  to 
rely  principally  upon  common  labor  for  a livelihood 
while  it  was  learning  our  language  and  customs  and 
fitting  itself  into  our  national  life.  The  indifference  and 
hardly-disguised  contempt  which  a large  number  of 
Americans  felt  toward  the  Italian  or  the  Slav  during 
the  twenty-five  years  from  1890  to  the  outbreak  of  the  ^ 
war,  was  experienced  in  earlier  years  by  the  Irishman, 
and  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  by  the  German, 
Scandinavian,  and  Belgian.  It  is  as  necessary  to  help 
the  American  understand  the  newcomer  and  appreciate 
the  contribution  which  he  will  make  to  our  national  life, 
as  to  help  the  immigrant  understand  the  American. 

There  is  another  point  which  Americans  must  be 
taught  to  remember.  Every  alien  who  comes  to  i 
America  comes  here  because  he  believes  that  America 
is  a better  place  to  live  than  his  homeland.  He  comes 
here  hopefully,  expectantly,  eagerly.  He  comes  here 
in  a receptive  mood.  The  only  reason  that  alien  prop- 
aganda has  been  able  to  retain  a hold  on  part  of  the 
immigrants,  has  been  that  we  have  failed  to  provide 
them  with  proper  educational,  industrial,  and  social 
opportunities  to  become  a real  part  of  our  life.  They 
have  not  found  us  responsive,  and  their  enthusiasm  has 
been  chilled.  They  have  concluded  that  we  did  not 
care  about  them.  Americanization  must  teach  the 
American  to  value  the  people  who  have  come  to  us, 
and  cause  him  to  assist  the  alien  to  enter  into  the  privi- 
leges and  duties  of  America’s  adopted  sons. 


[4] 


Americanization  is,  then,  a process  of  education,  of 
mutual  understanding,  of  growing  together.  It  cannot 
be  accomplished  by  any  one  agency.  The  public  schools 
can  reach  some  of  the  adults;  the  Y.  M.  and  Y.  W.  G. 
A.,  the  social  settlements,  the  welfare  work  of  em- 
ployers, have  important  parts  to  play;  while  the  re- 
search work  and  training  of  leaders  in  the  university 
are  necessary  to  provide  specialized  knowledge  and 
leadership.  Improvements  in  labor  conditions,  in  land 
laws,  in  the  housing  of  the  poor,  and  in  methods  of 
labor  distribution  are  as  important  as  any  of  the  edu- 
cational work.  They  will  remove  many  of  the  immi- 
grant’s causes  of  bitterness.  Community  and  social 
centers;  women’s  and  civic  clubs;  and  the  aroused  in- 
terest of  churches,  parochial  schools,  fraternal  orders, 
and  companies  engaged  in  land  colonization  are  all 
essential  to  the  task.  In  a word,  Americanization  is  a 
process  of  mental  and  spiritual  reconstruction — if  we 
can  use  the  word  spiritual  in  a non-religious  sense — 
which  must  be  accomplished  by  a multitude  of  forces 
in  our  national  life.  The  essential  thing  now  is  that 
those  forces  be  wisely  directed  so  that  they  may  accom- 
plish the  needed  result,  rather  than  produce  evil  results 
by  their  misdirected  though  well-intentioned  efforts. 

Agencies  of  Americanization  in  Wisconsin 

There  are  a number  of  agencies  in  Wisconsin  which 
are  seriously  concerned  about  this  matter  of  American- 
ization. The  State  Council  of  Defense  and  many  of  the 
County  Councils  started  committees  at  work,  and  the 
persons  whom  they  have  interested  will  continue  to  be  the 
leaders  in  Americanization  in  many  communities  even 
after  the  councils  terminate  their  organization.  Some 
of  the  County  Councils,  such  as  those  in  Milwaukee  and 
La  Crosse  counties,  have  already  achieved  notable  re- 


suits.  The  State  Superintendent  of  Education,  the 
State  Board  of  Vocational  Education,  and  many  local 
school  boards  have  taken  definite  steps  to  promote  true 
citizenship.  Infiuential  employers,  the  Milwaukee  Asso- 
ciation of  Commerce,  and  a number  of  other  commercial 
organizations  in  the  state  have  put  themselves  behind  it. 
The  question  of  Americanization  is  entering  into  the 
plans  of  those  interested  in  land  settlement  in  Wiscon- 
sin, and  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace.  The  social 
settlements  have  been  trying  harder  than  ever  to  reach 
their  immediate  neighborhoods.  The  women’s  clubs  of 
the  state  have  stimulated  the  work  in  various  communi- 
ties and  established  many  classes  for  the  training  of 
foreign  women. 

The  University,  in  its  Americanization  work,  recog- 
nizes the  existence  and  the  usefulness  of  every  one  of 
these  lines  of  activity.  It  has  no  desire  to  supplant  or 
to  interefere  with  any  of  them.  It  believes  that  it  has 
a distinct  field  of  usefulness  in  Americanization,  that 
the  University  can  assist  many  of  the  other  agencies  to 
increase  their  effectiveness,  and  can  carry  on  certain 
work  which  none  of  them  would  undertake.  The  Uni- 
versity has  a distinct  field  of  usefulness  because  it  is  a 
university,  and  its  purpose  is  to  perform  those  functions 
which  belong  to  a university  rather  than  those  which 
belong  to  other  organizations.  It  is  through  the  three 
avenues  of  research,  advice,  and  education,  that  the 
University  hopes  to  perform  its  part  in  the  work  of 
Americanization. 

Americanization  Work  of  the  University 

The  University  function  in  Americanization  work  is 
not  an  administrative  function. 

Seven  principal  projects  are  already  under  way:  A 
teacher ’s  course  to  be  given  in  Milwaukee  to  begin  about 


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CHIEF  NATUR.AL1ZATI0N  EXAMINER 


February  fifteenth  and  run  ten  weeks;  the  preparation 
of  and  induction  into  citizenship  of  four  hundred 
eighty -two  candidates  for  naturalization  at  Racine;  a 
summer  session  course  in  Americanization  to  be  given 
at  the  University;  a state-wide  system  of  training  can- 
didates for  citizenship  before  they  are  accepted  by  the 
naturalization  court ; an  Americanization  information 
bureau  in  the  Extension  Division  of  the  University ; ad- 
visory and  lecture  work  in  local  communities ; and  loose 
leaf  courses  of  study  in  English  and  citizenship. 

1.  Milwaukee  Teacher^s  Course. 

The  plan  in  the  Milwaukee  course  is  to  provide  train- 
ing for  teachers  who  will  later  be  employed  by  the  city 
school  board  or  by  the  vocational  schools  to  teach  Eng- 
lish and  citizenship  to  adult  foreigners.  The  course 
consists  of  thirty  ■ two-hour  sessions.  The  first  fifteen 
sessions  will  cover  a study  of  the  history  and  racial 
composition  of  immigration  into  this  country;  the  ef- 
fects of  immigration  upon  our  civilization;  conditions 
in  the  homelands  from  which  these  immigrants  have 
come;  the  experiences  which  the  immigrants  have  en- 
countered in  their  entrance  into  our  national 
life ; their  reactions  toward  America ; methods  of  or- 
ganization and  management  of  classes  for  adult 
foreigners ; successful  and  unsuccessful  methods  in 
teaching  English  to  foreigners;  and  a presentation  of 
the  process  by  which  aliens  are  naturalized.  Those  at- 
tending the  course  will  all  be  instructed  in  methods  of 
using  the  moving  picture  and  stereopticon  machines, 
folk  music,  and  other  agencies  which  facilitate  such 
work. 

After  the  fifteenth  session  the  course  will  be  divided 
into  three  sections.  Each  student  will  elect  the  section 
he  or  she  desires  to  enter.  The  subject  of  the  first  sec- 
tion will  be  ‘‘Vocational  English  for  Adults.’^  The 


second  section  will  take  up  ^^The  Teaching  of  English 
to  Foreign  Women/’  The  third  section  will  cover  ‘‘The 
Teaching  of  Citizenship,”  and  will  include  an  analysis 
of  what  is  essential  to  be  taught  in  American  history, 
biography,  and  citizenship  in  fitting  adults  to  enter  our 
social  life. 

A corps  of  teachers  will  be  used  in  the  teacher’s 
course,  each  of  whom  will  be  a specialist  in  some  feature 
of  the  work,  and  all  of  whom  will  devote  themselves  to 
the  discussion  of  a selected  list  of  topics  which  will  be 
assigned  them.  In  other  words,  the  course  will  not  con- 
sist of  a series  of  more  or  less  unrelated  lectures ; but  a 
systematic,  unified  study  of  a carefully  selected  field  of 
information. 

Racine  Naturalization  Course. 

At  Eacine  there  are  four  hundred  eighty-two  candi- 
dates for  naturalization.  The  head  of  the  Americaniza- 
tion work  was  called  into  conference  by  the  Eacine 
Vocational  Schools  and  suggested  a program  of  pro- 
cedure which  included  the  following : 

a.  A personal  interview  with  each  one  of  these  peti- 
tioners, to  find  out  what  instruction  he  needs  to  prepare 
him  properly  for  citizenship. 

b.  The  enrollment  of  as  many  as  possible  of  these 
candidates  in  courses  in  English  and  citizenship  which 
will  prepare  them  for  naturalization. 

c.  Their  graduation  from  such  courses  with  a 
diploma  which  they  may  present  in  court  as  evidence 
of  their  preparation  and  then  their  induction  into  citi- 
zenship in  a community  fete. 

d.  • A community  banquet  and  a community  pageant 
at  the  time  of  their  induction  into  citizenship,  and  the 
induction  of  all  young  .men  who  have  come  to  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  within  the  past  six  months,  at  the 
same  time. 


e.  The  formation  of  a Community  Citizenship  Com- 
mittee to  be  composed  of  representa'^iyes  of  the  natural- 
ization court,  school  system,  trade  unions,  manufac- 
tures, etc.,  who  would  take  charge  of  the  (general  work 
in  the  city. 

3,  University  Summer  Session  Course  in  American- 
ization. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  for  a course  in  Amer- 
icanization in  the  summer  session.  Professor  Commons 
will  give  his  closely  related  course  on  industrial  service, 
and  Professor  Lescohier  will  give  a lecture  course  on 
Americanization  which  will  bring  together  the  best 
available  knowledge  on  the  subject.  This  course  has 
the  practical  purpose  of  equipping  teachers  and  social 
workers,  who  attend  the  summer  session,  to  do  Ameri- 
canization work  more  efficiently.  One  of  the  features 
of  the  work  at  the  summer  session  will  be  daily,  two- 
^ hour  conferences  in  which  the  students  of  Americaniza- 
tion can  meet  for  the  discussion  of  the  matters  brought 
up  in  the  lectures  and  of  the  problems  they  have  en- 
^ countered  in  their  several  communities.  These  confer- 
ences are  expected  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable 
features  of  the  course.  They  will  bring  together  a con- 
siderable number  of  persons  who  have  practical  expe- 
rience in  Americanization  work  and  enable  these  people 
to  work  out  systematically  solutions  for  the  practical 
difficulties  they  encounter  in  the  work.  The  State 
Board  of  Vocational  Education  is  expected  to  request 
each  city  which  has  vocational  schools  to  pay  at  least 
part  of  the  expenses  of  teachers  from  those  schools  to 
help  them  attend  the  Americanization  course  at  the 
University.  The  hearty  support  of  the  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  will  be  given  in  urging 
teachers  from  the  public  schools  to  attend  the  course  at 
the  summer  session. 


It  is  believed  that  a large  number  of  teachers  and 
social  workers  of  practical  experience  from  various 
states  will  be  assembled  at  this  course,  and  that  each  at- 
tendant will  get  the  benefit  of  their  combined  expe- 
rience. 

4.  State-wide  Naturalization  Course. 

The  head  of  the  Americanization  work,  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Naturalization, 
is  working  on  a plan  to  prepare  a course  in  English  and 
citizenship  for  naturalization  purposes,  and  to  arrange 
for  the  use  of  such  course  all  naturalization  proceed- 
ings in  the  state.  The  plan  is  as  follows:  When  an 
alien  petitions  for  naturalization,  the  judge,  in  addi- 
tion to  notifying  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Naturali- 
zation of  such  petition,  will  direct  the  alien  to  designat- 
ed school  authorities  in  the  district.  The  Bureau  of 
Naturalization  will  notify  such  school  authorities  of 
the  petition  so  that  they  can,  on  their  initiative,  look 
him  up.  The  school  authorities  will  be  provided  by  the 
University  with  a course  of  training  which  has  been 
approved  by  the  Naturalization  Bureau  and  by  the 
courts,  and  will  then  give  the  alien  such  training  in 
regular  classes  for  that  purpose.  Upon  completion  of 
the  course  he  will  receive  a diploma  similar  to  that 
shown  in  the  illustration  in  this  bulletin.  This  diploma 
is  a form  now  in  use  at  Racine.  This  diploma  will  con- 
stitute evidence  satisfactory  to  the  court  of  the  peti- 
tioner’s fitness  for  naturalization,  and  the  judge  will 
then  omit  any  examination  of  the  petitioner  in  court 
except  such  as  is  necessary  to  test  his  renunciation  of 
the  country  of  his  birth  and  his  pledge  of  loyalty  to  this 
country.  It  is  expected  that  this  plan  will  also  lead  to 
the  inauguration  of  appropriate  ceremonies  of  induction 
into  citizenship  in  each  locality. 


[ 10  ] 


5.  Information  Bureau. 

We  are  also  planning  to  develop  in  connection  with 
the  Extension  Service  an  Americanization  Information 
^ Bureau  which  will  keep  the  educators  and  other  inter- 
ested citizens  informed  upon  the  available  literature  on 
the  subject,  answer  their  questions,  and  send  a repre- 
w sentative  into  communities  to  help  them  plan  out  the 
solution  of  their  local  problems. 

6.  Lectures  on  Americanization. 

The  head  of  Americanization  cannot  accept  invita- 
tions to  lecture  through  the  state  on  the  subject  except 
where  such  lectures  are  an  essential  part  of  local  Amer- 
icanization work.  Whenever  he  does  accept  an  invita- 
tion to  lecture,  it  is  in  a community  which  is  serious- 
ly planning  Americanization  work  or  is  carrying  it  on, 
and  he  always  expects  to  hold  a conference  with  a group 
of  interested  citizens  while  in  the  community,  to  assist 
them  in  working  out  or  perfecting  their  Americaniza- 
tion  plans. 

7.  Loose  Leaf  Courses  in  English  and  Citizenship  are 
being  prepared,  in  the  University  Extension  Division, 
#'  for  distribution.  These  courses  are  planned  in  such  a 
way  that  certain  lessons  can  be  selected  which  are  par- 
ticularly adapted,  for  instance,  to  a group  of  Polish 
laborers.  Another  set  could  be  used  if  it  was  a group 
of  Italian  farmers  who  were  going  to  attend  the  class; 
or  still  another  set  for  Greek  confectioners.  This  wiU 
enable  the  teachers  to  meet  specific  problems  peculiar  to 
each  community  better  than  bound  volumes.  These 
courses  will  be  distributed,  upon  request,  to  the  school 
authorities  or  other,  proper  organizations  who  will  use 
them. 


I t 11  ] 


f 


Material  Now  Available  in  Extension  Division 


The  University  Extension  Division  has  available  three 
classes  of  material  whicl^  can  be  used  to  advantage  at 
once  in  the  various  communities  of  the  state. 

1.  The  package  library  service  of  the  University  Ex- 
tension Division  has  compiled  sets  of  bulletins,  reports,  ’ 
and  other  pamphlet  material  v^hich  will  be  lent  to  com- 
munity centers,  schools,  clubs,  or  other  organizations 
or  individuals  in  the  state  upon  request.  A considerable 
amount  of  material  on  Americanization  has  been  as-* 
sembled.  These  may  be  obtained  for  use  within  the  state 
by  addressing  the  University  Extension  Division. 

2.  The  Visual  Instruction  Bureau  has  a number  of 
sets  of  slides  and  of  motion  picture  films,  with  appro- 
priate printed  lectures,  which  are  useful  for  Americani- 
zation work.  These  may  be  obtained  for  use  within  the 
state  by  writing  to  the  University  Extension  Division. 

3.  The  Bureau  of  Community  Music  and  Drama  can! 
furnish  programs  of  community  music,  sets  of  Victrolal 
records,  and  advice  and  assistance  with  respect  to  com4 
munity  dramas,  pageants,  or  other  spectacles  to  further! 
the  Americanizing  of  the  community.  These  may  bi 
obtained  for  use  within  the  state  by  writing  to  the  Uni^] 
versity  Extension  Division. 

Wisconsin  is  the  first  American  University  to  establis] 
a chair  of  Americanization.  It  is  opening  up  a nevi 
field  in  university  work.  The  problems  which  confront; 
the  work  are  both  large  and  intricate.  Suggestions,  crit 
icisms,  or  inquiries  from  the  citizens  of  the  state  whicbj 
will  enable  us  to  direct  and  work  in  the  wisest  possibk' 
manner  and  to  the  state’s  best  advantage,  will  always 
be  welcomed. 


[ 12  ] 


